


The Four Proposals Kagome Got and the One She Never Did

by Nara



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-15
Updated: 2016-11-15
Packaged: 2018-08-31 05:12:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8565364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nara/pseuds/Nara
Summary: Kagome Higurashi is a very desirable woman. She's been proposed to by many men, but there's only one proposal that she wants. Canon-divergence. Slight AU.





	1. Four Proposals

_Proposal 1: Miroku_

“Lovely lady, will you bear my children?”

“Whha-what?”

“Keep yer hands offa her!”

That was their first meeting. It was soon after that Kagome and InuYasha learned that that was just Miroku’s personality. He asked every pretty woman he met to bear his children, and Kagome was no exception. It made Kagome feel better to know that – she didn’t like the idea of being propositioned by a complete stranger.

It was months later, after they had been chased out of a village because of Miroku’s wandering hand, that Kagome found out what the proposition really meant to Miroku. He had gotten too close to the village headman’s daughter – within groping distance. He asked his trademark question and got slapped for it. But more than that, the girl had reported to her father that Miroku intended to defile her, making her impure for her future husband. That’s what had gotten them chased out of town.

Miroku rubbed the cheek where he had been slapped. “I would have done right by her, you know?”

“Huh?” Kagome paused in starting the fire to look at Miroku. InuYasha had gone off to hunt, for once taking Shippo with him, and Sango had wandered into the woods to burn off some of her anger at Miroku. He and Kagome were the only two in the campsite.

“Had she said she would bear my children, I would have married her. I would not make a bastard of my child, or dishonor her in such a way.”

Kagome was shocked. “Are you just saying that because she’s the village headman’s daughter?”

Miroku shook his head. “No. I mean to make the woman who says yes my wife.”

“So…when you ask a woman to bear your children…you’re…proposing?” Kagome clarified. At Miroku’s nod, she blushed.

“So…you propose to every woman you meet? Doesn’t that make the proposal basically worthless? What about when you meet the woman you actually want to marry? How is she supposed to know she’s special?” Kagome’s eyes wandered towards where Sango had stormed off into the woods. Miroku followed her gaze and sighed.

“It doesn’t make it worthless. It means that I am committed to my promises, willing to see them through. Even if no one else sees it that way, I know every woman I meet is special. Asking them all doesn’t invalidate the question. It just means that whoever says yes is my special one.”

Kagome wasn’t sure that she saw it exactly that way, but she understood what Miroku meant. It was his way of searching for his true love, and he was never insincere. Then, Kagome remembered that he had asked her to bear his children too. She blushed again. “Does that mean…that when you met me…you were…proposing?”

Miroku turned back from looking at the woods and held Kagome’s gaze. “Yes. I was.”

Kagome’s blush turned even darker. “I’m glad we’re friends, Miroku. But I am also glad I said no.”

Miroku chuckled. “I’m glad you said no, too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Proposal 2: Kouga_

“You’re my woman now!” Kouga exclaimed proudly, grabbing Kagome’s hands.

“I’m your what now?” Kagome tried tugging her hands away from Kouga, but his grip was strong.

“You’re my woman! That means you’ll bear my pups, I’ll protect you and keep you well fed, you’ll be my mate and my wife.”

Kagome’s face drained of color. _Is this guy serious? He just tried to kill me and Shippo, and now he’s proposing?!_

“That’s, uh, nice, Kouga, but I don’t think I want to be your woman.”

Kouga just grinned. “Nonsense! Of course you do!”

Before Kagome could protest any more, InuYasha came crashing through.

~~

“And he proposed?” Eri giggled, waving a fry around.

Kagome was hanging out at WacDonalds with her friends after an exam that she knew she failed. She needed something to cheer her up, and greasy fast food seemed like just the thing. Of course, her friends immediately started grilling her about her “two-timing boyfriend” and she ended up telling them a highly modified version of what happened with Kouga.

“More or less,” Kagome responded, taking a bite of her burger.

“What did you say?”

“You said no, right?”

“How did that boyfriend of yours react?”

Her friends bombarded her with questions. Kagome held up her hands in a gesture for them to slow down.

“Woah woah. Hold on. Of course I said no. I don’t know the guy and I didn’t like the way he treated me immediately before his off the cuff proposal.” Kagome paused a moment, remembering. “At least, I _think_ I said no. He didn’t really seem to take my refusal all that seriously. I think I wasn’t forceful enough in my rejection…”

“Wha…? So he thinks you’re going to marry him?!” Ayumi exclaimed.

“Oh God, I hope not.” Kagome moaned.

Unfortunately for her, that’s exactly what Kouga thought. Every time they interacted, he would grab her hands, and it was “My woman this” and “My woman that.”InuYasha always angrily intervened before she could say anything to Kouga about not being his woman.

Kagome sighed. _This is going to take some time_.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Proposal 3: Akitoki_

Kagome looked at the family tree Hojo was showing her in disbelief. Circled on the piece of paper was a marriage – “Akitoki Hojo and Kagome”.

That couldn’t be possible. It couldn’t be her. But it was the right timeframe for her travels in the past, and she did just meet a man who looked just like Hojo, who was named Akitoki.

_But I just met him! And if I marry him, what happened to InuYasha? What could lead to this future_ … _er, past?_

Kagome’s frantic musings were interrupted by Hojo. “Pretty neat, huh, Higurashi? My ancestor married someone who has your name!”

“Maybe it’s a sign or a prophecy!” Yuka whispered loudly. Both Kagome and Hojo blushed.

“Let’s not be too hasty here…” Kagome mumbled, both to herself and her friends. She barely knew Akitoki, there was no way he wanted to marry her. And she would do everything in her power to find out whether or not she was this woman who he married.

“So, uh, Higurashi. Would you like to go out and see a movie this weekend? Provided you’re feeling well enough of course.” Hojo asked.

“Huh? Oh, I uh, I have a doctor’s appointment that day. Excuse me.” Kagome said before running out of the room. She needed to get back to the Feudal Era.

~~

A somewhat unpleasant, but not altogether unsurprising, guest was waiting for her in the village when she returned in the form of Akitoki.

_Just my luck_. Kagome internally rolled her eyes then plastered on a smile and greeted him. “A-Akitoki! What a surprise!”

He bowed respectfully. “I just couldn’t stop thinking about you since you left my company, Lady Kagome.” He straightened his back and walked forward, taking her hands in his.

“You are so kind, thoughtful, brave and beautiful. Every waking moment since I’ve met you, you have been in my thoughts. I never even knew that I was looking for a woman like you until I found you.”

Kagome was growing more uncomfortable by the minute. She knew what was coming, and she knew what she was going to say, but this just made her question even further Hojo’s family tree. What circumstances could have led to that? Will Akitoki eventually wear her down until she said yes? And again, what happened to InuYasha?

As she was musing, Akitoki had continued talking, “Lady Kagome, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

Kagome pulled her hands away gently. “I’m sorry Akitoki, but no. I don’t know you.”

Akitoki looked crestfallen for a moment, before looking up and smiling. “So what you’re saying is, once you get to know me, you would consider becoming my wife?”

Kagome backed up a step, “Ah, no, that’s not what I was saying…”

Akitoki ignored her in favor of his own conclusions. “You’ll come to know me and find I would make a very suitable husband for you.” He smiled, and then bowed to her again before walking away whistling.

_That…did not go as planned_. Kagome knew she’d have to be more firm with him in the future. She wasn’t about to become Akitoki Hojo’s wife.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Proposal 4: Hojo_

It was a beautiful day for a graduation. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, and everyone was in a celebratory mood. Everyone except Kagome. Today’s graduation meant it was nearly three years since they’d defeated Naraku. Nearly three years since the well closed, trapping her on this side. Nearly three years since she last saw InuYasha. Any time something big happened in her life, she wished he was there to experience it with her.

“Congratulations to our graduating class!” The speaker shouted and everyone cheered, throwing their graduation caps in the air. Kagome simply stood, not sharing in the emotions of her classmates.

Suddenly, Kagome was surrounded by her friends, Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi, and Hojo. Ayumi tackled Kagome in a hug. “We did it!”

Kagome smiled slightly, not wanting to put a damper on her friends’ moods. She shook her head subtly to clear it of negative thoughts. She would be positive, at least for her friends’ sakes! This was a day of celebrating what they had accomplished, not focusing on could-have-beens.

She posed for photos with her friends, laughing and smiling as they recounted tales of the last three years, wishing good luck to her other classmates. Soon the sun was setting, and the graduation celebration was ending.

“Higurashi, may I talk to you for a moment? Uh, alone?” Hojo suddenly asked.

“Sure, Hojo.” Kagome said.

They took a walk a little ways away from the others, though Kagome could sense her friends slowly creeping up on them, trying to eavesdrop.

“So, uh, Higurashi…Kagome…I’ve been thinking.” that got Kagome’s attention, Hojo never used her given name. “We’ve been through a lot together, haven’t we? Uh, I mean, you were always sick in middle school. And I was always helping you by bringing you medicines and things. And we’ve known each other for forever, and we were in the same class all three years here in high school, and I know we’ve never really been _together_ together, but we’ve been out more than a few times and, well…” he trailed off.

“Hojo,” Kagome began slowly, “What exactly are you trying to say?”

Hojo reached into his pocket and got down on one knee. He pulled out a small box and opened it, inside was a simple, yet elegant, diamond ring. “Kagome Higurashi, will you marry me?”

Kagome was struck speechless, and she heard her friends gasp. After a minute of her just staring at him, Hojo started looking around nervously.

“Come on Kagome, answer him!” Yuka shouted.

That broke Kagome out of her reverie. “I’m sorry Hojo. But the answer is no.”

Hojo stumbled to his feet. “But…but why?”

“You said it yourself. We’ve never really been together. And, well…” Kagome trailed off, looking askance.

Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi suddenly surrounded the two of them.

“You _can’t_ still be hung up on that two-timing ex-boyfriend of yours?!” Eri exclaimed in shock. When Kagome just fidgeted and looked at her feet, Eri shook her head. “It’s been three years, Kagome, and you haven’t heard anything from him. Not a phone call, not a text, nothing! He’s not going to be there for you. Not like Hojo is!”

Kagome looked up and glared at her friend. “You just don’t understand! You…you can’t understand the situation. He’ll come back if he can, and I can’t give up on him until I know for certain that he won’t! And even then, I don’t think I could ever give him up. Again, I’m sorry Hojo, but it’s not going to work out.”

Kagome turned on her heels and fled from the scene, leaving a distraught Hojo and confused friends behind.

It didn’t matter to her if InuYasha was never coming back – she would not marry Hojo. She would wait for InuYasha for the rest of her life if she had to.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Proposal 5: InuYasha_

Kagome stood at the door of the well house and sighed, before turning around and trudging back towards her home. The well’s magic still hadn’t returned. She was still trapped on her side of the well. She was afraid to go looking for a sign of InuYasha, afraid to find out that they would never get together, that he wasn’t around. She hadn’t sensed any youkai at all in her time period, and the only ones she ever saw were that Noh mask years ago and the Soul Piper every once in a while.

It had been seven years since Hojo proposed, and seven long years without InuYasha. She lived at the shrine as its main caretaker, ever since her grandfather passed three years ago. Souta was in his last semester of high school. Soon he’d be heading off too. But Kagome could never leave the shrine. It held too many precious memories.

She heard slow, plodding footsteps coming up the stairs. Souta was home; but usually he walked with more of a skip in his step. He saw her when he reached the top of the stairs and flinched.

“Hey, sis. I, uh, have something to show you.”

The two of them walked into the shrine together in silence, Kagome wondering what Souta had to show her and Souta dreading what he had to say.

When they reached the kitchen, Souta pulled a large, old book out of his backpack.

“So, for our Japanese history class we have to do a project on one of the many myths of Japan. I chose to do the Legend of the Shikon no Tama, because, well, I know so much about it.” He paused and looked at Kagome, she nodded stiffly, her hands clenched into fists, nails digging into her palms. Souta swallowed the lump that formed in his throat and continued. “But, well, I wanted to include your part of the story, which isn’t as well known. We have some scrolls and books about it here at the shrine, but we have nothing about…about how the story ends, after you and InuYasha get separated by the well.”

He heard Kagome sniffle but he pressed on. “I know you didn’t want to know what happened, Kagome. I know you hoped it was still happening, that you would be a part of it. But I had to know. I had to know what happened to InuYasha. I searched libraries all over Japan – did you know they have this cool interlibrary exchange program where you can rent books from any participating library? – well, I found one book. One book about what happened to everybody. Well, everybody except you. It was written like, a hundred years ago by someone called S. Taisho – what a name, huh? – and most scholars question it’s veracity. But I know it’s true. It says…it says that you ‘returned to your own time’ when you and InuYasha were separated by the Jewel. How could S. Taisho know that if he didn’t know other things? People don’t believe in time travel. But he did. I just. I don’t want it to be true, Kagome. But it has to be, there’s no other explanation.” Souta knew he was babbling, but he couldn’t bring himself to get to the point.

“No other explanation for what, Souta?” Kagome asked quietly.

Souta looked at his sister, who was trying so hard not to cry. He could see the tears welling up in the corner of her eyes. She knew what was coming.

“InuYasha…he…he died, Kagome. 200 years ago. That’s why he hasn’t come to find you.”

Tears streamed down Kagome’s cheeks, but she said nothing. Souta hesitantly continued. “It was his human night…he was defending a village by himself from an army of raiders. They shot him full of poisoned arrows. He couldn’t use his Tetsusaiga, he didn’t have any ranged attacks…He…he didn’t make it until morning, when he would have healed from his injuries.”

“I should have been there.” Kagome whispered. “I should have been with him!”

Souta looked at his sister incredulously. “Kagome. You know that’s not possible, right? Even if you had been able to get back through the well, he died 300 years later than that. You’re only human, you…you wouldn’t have lived that long.”

Kagome sank to her knees and wailed, “I know! But that’s not fair! For him to be alone when he died? With no one to care for him in his last moments?” Souta walked to the other side of the table and put his hand on his sister’s shoulder. He didn’t know what to say. Kagome kept sobbing.

“InuYasha…INUYASHA!” She cried, burying her face in her hands. Souta stood there, tears beginning to stream down his own cheeks. He wouldn’t cry out loud – for Kagome’s sake. That’s how their mother found them an hour later when she returned from the store. Two sobbing children – and an open book on the table.


	2. ALTERNATE ENDING WHERE KAGOME GETS THE PROPOSAL SHE WANTED ALL ALONG

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't just have a sad ending, the story needed a happy one too.

Kagome stood at the door of the well house and sighed, before turning around and trudging back towards her home. The well’s magic still hadn’t returned. She was still trapped on her side of the well. She was afraid to go looking for a sign of InuYasha, afraid to find out that they would never get together, that he wasn’t around. She hadn’t sensed any youkai at all in her time period, and the only ones she ever saw were that Noh mask years ago and the Soul Piper every once in a while.

It had been seven years since Hojo proposed, and seven long years without InuYasha. She lived at the shrine as its main caretaker, ever since her grandfather passed three years ago. Souta was in his last semester of high school. Soon he’d be heading off too. But Kagome could never leave the shrine. It held too many precious memories.

She heard slow, plodding footsteps coming up the stairs. They paused once they reached the top, before continuing onto the shrine grounds. Kagome turned around, “I’m sorry, but the shrine is closed…right…now…” she trailed off when she saw who was standing there. Silver hair underneath a baseball cap and golden eyes that glinted in the setting sun. “Inu…Yasha…?” she whispered, afraid she was seeing things.

The man standing there smirked. “I’m here, Kagome.”

Kagome choked back a sob and InuYasha took a step a back. That was not the reaction he had been expecting.

“InuYasha, you…you JERK!” Kagome cried, “Where have you been all these years?”

InuYasha rushed forward and gathered Kagome in his arms. Kagome stiffened in shock – the InuYasha she knew never would have done this – before relaxing into his embrace. She cried harder. He had changed so much, and she wasn’t there for any of it.

“I got a little lost in time along the way. But I’m here now, Kagome. And I’m never leaving you again.”

He titled her chin up so she was looking him in the eyes and wiped away her tears with the pad of his thumb. “Kagome Higurashi. I’ve loved you for 500 years. And I’ve waited for this moment for so long. Will you be my wife, my mate, my everything?”

Kagome gasped at the unexpected question. She looked into InuYasha’s eyes and saw love and adoration shining there. He had really been thinking about this for a long time.

“Yes,” she whispered, “Of course InuYasha! I’ve been yours from the day we met. Well, maybe not the _day_ we met.” She giggled. InuYasha smiled genuinely and leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss.

~~

They were married later that spring underneath the branches of the Goshinboku.


End file.
